Brake hanger



Jan. 9, 1934. F, SCHAEFER 1,942,777

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ing drawing, of which Fig. l is a face View of a U-type of brake hanger having a yoke formed according to this invention; Fig. 2 a side View thereof; Fig. 3 a cross-section of the yoke on line III-III of Fig. l; Fig. 4 a cross-section of the corner portion taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. l; and Fig. 5 a cross-section of a leg.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, there is shown a U- shape brake hanger comprising side arms 1 and an integral suspension type of yoke 2. In the upper ends of these side arms there are provided the usual eyes 3 which are provided for receiving the pins by which the hanger is connected to the truck frame. As shown in Fig. 5, the side arms are preferably circular in cross-section, and, as shown in Fig. 3, the yoke 2 is provided with an upper arcuate main bearing surface 4 and a lower arcuate secondary bearing surface 5, the area of the former surface being materially greater than that of the latter, and the two proportioned in accordance with the load which they encounter. To increase the strength of the yoke and simplify its formation, as well as minimize the internal strains set up in it when it is heat treated, its lateral sides 6 are made substantially plane and converge towards each other from the edges of the main to the edges of the secondary bearing surface. The yoke when so formed is also elongate in cross-section, that is, pear-shape, which gives it greater shear resisting strength and permits it to be interlocked with a brake beam in a well known manner.

In the manufacture of such a hanger from a cylindrical rod of equal cross-sectional area, the rod is first cut to length and upset at its ends in the usual way to form widened portions through which holes are drilled to form eyes 3. The rod is then bent into U-shape, and the cylindrical yoke-forming portion placed between a pair or" plane converging dies by which it is pressed into yoke 2 having the cross-sectional form shown in Fig. 3. The ends of the dies are so shaped as to form strengthening ribs 7 at the outside of the bends of the hanger, the ribs gradually merging at their ends into the yoke and side arms 1.

When so produced, no upsetting of the yokeforming portion is required as flashes are eliminated and there is substantially no elongation of the yoke, and the cost of manufacture is materially reduced.

Furthermore, a yoke may be formed in this manner without heating it to as high a temperature as is necessary in forming the old type yokes, because the deformation to which the stock must be subjected is comparatively small and less plasticity of the metal is required. This also tends toward the production of a ner grain structure, and as there are no thin portions in a yoke of pyrifcrm, the grain structure remains uniform throughout the yoke during the heat-treatment and oil-quenching processes; hence internal stresses are minimized and the overall strength materially improved.

What has been said hereinbefore with respect to U-shaped hangers will be appreciated by those skilled in the art as also applying to loop type hangers which differ from the described hangers only in the use of an upper supporting yoke in place of the eye and pin type of suspension.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A brake hanger having side arms and an integral transverse yoke, the yoke and side arms being of substantially equal cross-sectional area throughout, and the yoke having arcuate main and secondary bearing surfaces of large and small areas, respectively, and having substantially plane-faced converging sides joining the edges of said main and secondary bearing surfaces.

2. A brake hanger having side arms and an integral transverse yoke of elongate cross-section, the yoke and side arms being of substantially equal cross-sectional area throughout, the yoke having a main inner load-carrying arcuate bearing surface of relatively large area, an outer secondary arcuate bearing surface of comparatively small area, and having substantially plane-faced converging sides joining the edges of said larger and smaller bearingsurfaces.

3. A brake hanger having side arms and an integral transverse yoke of elongate cross-section, the yoke and side arms being of substantially equal cross-sectional area throughout, the yoke having a main inner load-carrying arcuate bearing surface of relatively large area, an outer secondary arcuate bearing surface of comparatively small area, and having substantially plane-faced converging sides joining the edges of said larger and smaller bearing surfaces, and a strengthening rib extending outward from the yoke at each end of the secondary bearing surface and around the outside of a bend of the hanger and merging with a side arm.

4. A brake hanger having side arms and an integral transverse yoke of elongate cross-section,

the yoke and side arms being of substantially equal cross-sectional area throughout, the yoke having a main inner load-carrying arcuate bearing surface of relatively large area, an outer secondary arcuate bearing surface of comparatively small area, and having substantially plane-faced';

converging sides joining the edges of said larger and smaller bearing surfaces, and a strengthening rib extending outward from the yoke at each end of the secondary bearing surface and around the outside of a bend of the hanger and merging with a side arm, the cross-sectional contour of said yoke gradually merging at each end into that of said side arms.

FREDERIC SCHAEFER. 

